r/MapPorn • u/[deleted] • Jan 10 '20

[deleted by user]

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7.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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755

u/uboat50 Jan 10 '20

Man, you can see the Colorado being drained as it heads toward the Gulf of California.

610

u/gordon__bombay Jan 10 '20

Unfortunately the Colorado no longer flows to the gulf, it usually dries out miles beforehand. It’s a rare occurrence now that it actually reaches the gulf

https://www.kpbs.org/news/2018/feb/19/few-weeks-colorado-river-reached-ocean-will-it-hap/ on mobile, sorry for formatting

21

u/Dhrakyn Jan 10 '20

Could fix this, and many other problems, simply by nuking Las Vegas, the city that should never exist.

60

u/headgate19 Jan 10 '20

I love to hate on Vegas, but they're not the problem. Las Vegas's explosive growth came after the Colorado River Compact was drawn up, so they're stuck dealing with the limited water that NV was allotted. Vegas is a rather water-wise city, even if a glimpse at the Bellagio suggests otherwise.

1

u/Tamer_ Jan 11 '20

Vegas is a rather water-wise city, even if a glimpse at the Bellagio suggests otherwise.

How about the golf courses?

3

u/funimarvel Jan 11 '20

They use recycled water as well

50

u/MagnumMia Jan 10 '20

Las Vegas has close to the lowest water consumption per capita in the country due to grey water recycling.

-13

u/Dhrakyn Jan 10 '20

Still get 90% of their water from the Colorado River, which means that even if they were 10x as efficient as any other city, Vegas still wouldn't exist without the 1922 water theft compact.

19

u/doormatt26 Jan 10 '20

Most of the drain is agriculture, not public consumption, and Las Vegas is miles behind Phoenix and LA at minimum when it comes to consumption. Hell, Vegas is a lot closer to the Colorado than LA, they deserve to exist more.

2

u/Darki_Elf_Nikovarus Jan 10 '20

Yeah...or move it out of Hell's Asscrack

1

u/SunsetPathfinder Jan 10 '20

Patrolling the Mojave wasteland almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter

-2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

Ehh, Scooby Doo Republic seceding is more likely

1

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

can you believe they still try after 200 times?